In a weekend surprise to India’s edtech world, talks of a blockbuster acquisition of UPSC coaching heavyweight Drishti IAS by NEET/JEE edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) have quietly collapsed. Industry watchers report that PhysicsWallah had been in advanced discussions to buy Drishti for ₹2,500–₹3,000 crore, only to see Drishti’s founder walk away.

In a statement, Drishti CEO Vivek Tiwari explained that the company’s “decisions are always based on a very long-term vision” and so, after exploring options (even a potential IPO), Drishti “decided to continue independently for now”. This surprising breakdown has sent ripples through the ecosystem. It raises big questions:

Was PhysicsWallah’s bid driven by hype or actual synergy? Did Drishti judge its own worth correctly? And what does this failed deal say about India’s edtech future, especially in the shadow of Byju’s notorious acquisition binge?

We dug into the numbers and the discourse. Drishti IAS reported ₹405 crore in FY2024 revenue and ₹90 crore in profit (PAT). Those are remarkable figures for test-prep: a 22% profit margin, even as most coaching is low-margin. For context, Drishti’s core business is UPSC preparation through both online and classroom courses. With such stellar earnings, it’s no surprise Drishti felt it didn’t need to sell. As one Reddit startup commentator put it bluntly, Drishti “is doing 4x revenue organically” and could see “the chaos in other acquired coaching brands post-edtech takeovers”. In short, Drishti’s leadership evidently believed they were worth more kept as a standalone champion, not folded into a larger corporate machine.

Meanwhile, PhysicsWallah has been on a tear. Founded by Alakh Pandey in 2016 as a free YouTube channel and later an affordable coaching platform, PhysicsWallah quickly became a $2.8–3.7 billion unicorn. It has grown beyond JEE/NEET into UPSC, state exam prep, K-12 schooling and even technical skilling. PW’s revenues have exploded (to ~₹1,940 crore in FY2024), but so have its losses (over ₹1,100 crore last year).

This heavy spending on expansion has drawn comparisons to Byju’s. To fuel growth and build an IPO narrative, PW’s leadership has signaled it wants to acquire other brands. In fact, press reports said that PhysicsWallah was eyeing not just Drishti but also other IAS institutes (Chaitanya Academy, Rau’s IAS) to bolster its civil-services portfolio.

That push for scale has made some wary. On Reddit, skeptical onlookers noted that PW’s interest in Drishti looked like IPO window-dressing, a “defensive diversification play” to make PW’s story more compelling before going public. One user asserted bluntly: “This deal was only about [PW’s] IPO narrative. PhysicsWallah wants scale and synergy; Drishti wants legacy and autonomy”. The deal collapse was chalked up to such “misaligned incentives”.

From this vantage, Drishti’s founders, who built a trusted UPSC brand over 25 years, simply didn’t want to sacrifice independence and ethos for quick money. As one comment put it, “you can’t slap a valuation on founder temperament”. And in a tight funding climate, turning down a multi-thousand-crore offer might even seem like the braver choice.

Drishti’s figures help explain why. At a ₹3,000 crore price, PhysicsWallah would have been paying roughly 6–7× sales and 27× earnings (₹90 crore PAT); a lofty multiple even for boom-time tech. For Drishti, with 30% growth last year, independence looks safe. In other words, Drishti likely felt it could continue its momentum (perhaps via its own IPO one day) without the hassles of a merger. By contrast, PhysicsWallah is sitting on lofty ambitions (and heavy losses) that drive it to buy growth rather than build it all organically.

Drishti’s Strengths: A “Blue-Chip” Coaching Business

To see why Drishti may have balked, consider its standing. Founded in 1999 by Vikas Divyakirti, Drishti IAS dominates Hindi-medium UPSC coaching and is a household name among aspirants. In FY2024 it earned ₹405 crore and made ₹90 crore profit after tax. This growth has been driven by expanding both its brick-and-mortar centers (e.g. its flagship Mukherjee Nagar center accounts for over half of revenue) and its online courses. Civil-services exams continue to see rising applicants, so high-quality UPSC coaching is in demand nationwide.

Beyond the raw figures, Drishti has brand equity and profitability that few edtech startups can match. A 22% PAT margin is remarkable when many private coaching businesses struggle to break even. Drishti’s discipline and focus, sticking mainly to UPSC-prep has kept costs in check. By contrast, PhysicsWallah’s model (covering 50+ exams, multiple languages, offline centers, content production) carries huge fixed costs. In FY2024, PW’s losses soared to ₹1,131 crore on ₹1,940 crore sales, a warning sign of aggressive spending. Drishti, with its tranquil profit column, looked like a rare “blue-chip” candidate that didn’t need rescue. This is why industry sources said Drishti “decided not to go ahead with the deal,” choosing to keep growing on its own steam. 

In effect, Drishti concluded it could outperform or at least sustain itself without a takeover. After all, when a company is already profitable, the typical acquirers can’t sweeten the deal with the promise of cost-cutting; the real value is in the founders’ vision and the brand. As one Reddit commenter quipped: in this “notoriously low-margin” industry, Drishti’s deal offer would’ve been about 4× revenue, so why sell?

Given this backdrop, it’s no shock that Drishti’s brass thanked the market for valuation but said no. Insiders note that Drishti’s leadership, especially legendary founder Vikas Divyakirti, is highly invested in the “legacy and autonomy” of the institute. In Indian coaching culture, that can be everything: many educators prize the guru-like role over pure profit. One Reddit user saluted Divyakirti’s resolve, saying it takes more “conviction” to say no to ₹3,000 crore.

On LinkedIn, financial adviser Himanshu Jain warned that once “big money” enters education, “the initial spirit and soul of the company goes for a toss.” He invoked Byju’s collapse as a cautionary tale of a valued product “ahead of its time” being “killed by the pressure to grow at any cost”. In other words, Drishti leaders may have feared becoming a cog in a larger machine, losing the very values that built their success.

PhysicsWallah’s Acquisition Push: Growth or Gambit?

For PW, the calculus looked different. The startup has been aggressive in expanding its portfolio, partly fueled by venture capital. It raised $210 million (₹1,760 cr) in late 2024, at a valuation of $2.8 billion. It was reported about PW’s intention to file a Rs 4,600 crore IPO in early 2025. In the lead-up, PhysicsWallah clearly signaled it would bulk up: early 2025 reports had PhysicsWallah aiming for ₹1,000 crore offline revenue by FY25, and scouting UPSC players.

Indeed, PhysicsWallah has already made a few acquisitions of its own: buying FreeCo (a doubt-solving app) and the AI/ML skilling company iNeuron (along with subsidiaries in publishing). And in a hint of the Drishti bid, it even bought a 50% stake in Xylem Learning, a South-India hybrid learning platform. Clearly, PW’s strategy has been to buy capability, from tech to content to brick-and-mortar partnerships to fuel growth.

All this has made PhysicsWallah resemble the very “acquisition machine” it once disdained. Last year PW’s CEO publicly denounced unprofitable edtech models, but now PhysicsWallah seems to be chasing scale at breakneck speed. The analogy to Byju’s (and even Unacademy) looms large. Byju’s famously spent billions on growth, buying dozens of startups (Great Learning, Toppr, WhiteHat Jr, Aakash, Epic, Osmo and more).

Now many of those bets have soured: WhiteHat Jr’s integration racked up impairments and layoffs; Byju’s massive Aakash deal blew up in debt and lawsuits; and investors are still nursing losses. Critics argue that PW’s moves about rushing to diversify before an IPO, paying frothy prices could tread the same troubled path. Indeed, on Reddit one voice warned, “This type of reckless acquisition is the reason Byju’s is today [in trouble]”, and another flatly declared “PhysicsWallah is the next Byju’s”.

Is that fair? PW’s leadership would likely say no. Unlike Byju’s, PW’s acquisitions so far have been small and synergistic: publishing playbooks, technology tools, local coaching networks. PhysicsWallah’s expansion into UPSC and K-12 (through partnerships and content) is a natural adjacent move. And PhysicsWallah is remarkably different culturally: its founder Alakh Pandey still projects a “teacher-first” ethos, even after unicorn status. Many of PW’s students are devout fans of “Alakh sir.” Early on, Forbes India christened him “Robinhood Pandey,” noting how his altruistic origin story, poor student teaching from a slum, became PW’s emotional branding. PhysicsWallah built loyalty by undercutting other coaching centers and by refusing to upsell quickly, which earned it a reputation as the everyman’s education hero.

But that brand is under strain now. As PhysicsWallah chases new ventures, some insiders feel the spirit is shifting. There have been controversies: for example, PhysicsWallah launched an engineering program (its “Institute of Innovation”) charging ₹15 lakh per student, but initially didn’t provide an actual B.Tech degree. Families later discovered they had to separately enroll in another institution’s B.Sc program for their credential, effectively meaning PhysicsWallah was selling a purported degree without full accreditation.

When PhysicsWallah ultimately partnered with a new Sikkim-based university (Medhavi Skills) to award degrees, critics pointed out that this tiny, unproven university had itself faced allegations of dubious practices. This episode raised eyebrows on social media. On Reddit and student forums, there were grumbles that the program’s quality was undercutting PW’s affordable image.

Moreover, even PW’s own employees have voiced unease. In early 2023, a trio of veteran PhysicsWallah teachers publicly quit, alleging that PW’s culture had become cutthroat and that its Kota center was overcharging for subpar teaching. (PW management blamed distraction and called the claims unsubstantiated.) Most recently, after scaling up hiring and new centers, PhysicsWallah abruptly announced layoffs (about 0.8% of staff) citing performance issues, a move that surprised many in the edtech community. All this has fueled a narrative shift: PhysicsWallah is increasingly seen not just as the plucky underdog but as a fast-growing startup under pressure to deliver returns. In other words, its Robin Hood past has collided with its Wall Street future.

This tension is exactly what many edtech watchers worry about. A recent case study noted that while PW’s first leap (0→1) was “serendipitous” thanks to frugality and trust, the 1→10 journey will test if it can maintain agility and profitability while scaling. Will acquisitions be integrated smoothly, or will they spark “post-merger dysfunction” as with other edtech combos? Will heavy spending on marketing and hires pay off? Or will PhysicsWallah end up burning cash faster than it earns it – just as Byju’s did?

Lessons from Byju’s and Others: The Dark Side of Acquisitions

The cautionary tales of the past few years are stark. Byju’s spree from 2017–2022 turned into what one analysis called “a costly, deadly gamble.” It spent roughly half of $5 billion in funding on acquisitions. Its $300 million acquisition of WhiteHat Jr in 2020 seemed brilliant at first, until the business bled cash and had to be merged back in with massive losses. Meanwhile Byju’s $940 million purchase of offline test-prep chain Aakash in 2021 stumbled on corporate and legal complications, and eventually led to creditors forcing a sale of the business to Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Group at a huge loss.

As a magazine noted, “aggressive and expensive acquisitions” and a cascade of financing issues contributed to Byju’s collapse from a $22 billion valuation to effectively zero within a few years. Even smaller targets didn’t always help: purchases like Toppr and Great Learning have been quietly downplayed as Byju’s retrenched. Investors ultimately had to write down tens of thousands of crores across these deals.

It’s not just Byju’s. Unacademy, India’s other big edtech unicorn, acquired a string of niche platforms (PrepLadder, Graphy, CodeChef, etc.) as part of a growth push. But after an IPO flop and funding slowdown, Unacademy too has faced layoffs and closed some of these acquisitions back into the main fold, signaling the difficulty of melding disparate cultures and products.

In short, the history of Indian edtech’s mergers and acquisitions is littered with over-valuations, integration woes, and broken promises. Many critics argue that in education, a sector built on trust and expertise, and inorganic growth can fracture quality. If expensive ventures like WhiteHat Jr were ultimately reined in by Byju’s, and if K12/offline chains like Aakash went into freefall after integration, the community is right to ask whether smaller players like PhysicsWallah should follow that path.

PW’s own chatter has reflected this anxiety. On Reddit’s startup forums, multiple voices explicitly invoked Byju’s as a warning. One user teased that PhysicsWallah seemed to be “heading towards Unacademy and then towards Byju’s direction,” lamenting that “reckless acquisition is the reason Byju’s is in trouble”. Others worried that PhysicsWallah was under “exit desperation” from VCs, forcing it to chase an IPO prematurely. Yet some PW supporters countered that the company had learned from the edtech meltdown.

Notably, tech investor Dr. Aniruddha Malpani tweeted that PhysicsWallah was being “smarter than Byju’s” by going for an IPO while markets still favor education, essentially taking advantage of hot conditions rather than burning venture capital for funding rounds. In his view, PW’s bold moves (like acquiring Drishti) were about telling a compelling growth story to public investors, not unsustainable spending. Still, even Malpani had warned earlier on that education must focus on quality over “lighting speed” growth, echoing concerns that resonated on Reddit.

Whatever one thinks, the PhysicsWallah–Drishti deal is a rare instance where caution won out over consolidation. In recent months, many in the industry expected an edtech “recombination” phase where small players getting snapped up by unicorns (much as Byju’s swallowed up dozens of apps and tutors). When PhysicsWallah filed its draft IPO papers in March 2025, aiming for a ₹4,600 crore issue, analysts surmised that PhysicsWallah would seek to bulk up its offline network (like Byju’s always did) by buying institutes.

Drishti, after all, would have given PhysicsWallah a ready pipeline of UPSC students and a strong Hindi-medium brand at a tempting prize. However, Drishti’s rejection suggests that not all legacy coaching brands want to be gobbled up. It shows that profitability and independence can still trump an exit cheque, even in a down market.

Community Pulse: Students and Employees Speak Out

Aside from executives, ordinary educators and students are weighing in. On social platforms from Reddit to LinkedIn, many expressed approval of Drishti’s stand. Redditors applauded “sir” Divyakirti for having the conviction to turn down a deal in this funding “winter”. In student forums, some Drishti aspirants joked that their academy was now “too expensive to sell out”; a wry compliment to its strength. PhysicsWallah itself is also trending in discussions, but less positively.

Many former PhysicsWallah students cite painful stories: course content that promised high-end credentials but under-delivered, exorbitant fees for online “degrees,” and opaque degree approvals. The ₹15 lakh BTech controversy sparked outrage: students complained they’d been effectively sold a course and then told to register elsewhere to get any actual certification. Those stories fueled skepticism of PW’s new initiatives.

Employee sentiment has also turned mixed. The ex-PhysicsWallah teachers who split for a rival named Sankalp Bharat pointed to an internal culture shift; current staff grumble that corporate-like KPIs now clash with the “teaching ethos.” On LinkedIn, former employees and independent educators have begun to compare Alakh Pandey to Byju Raveendran and Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal, as charismatic founders who might be losing touch with classroom reality.

Some fans still defend PhysicsWallah as an inspiration, reminding everyone that Alakh has not sold out yet, and that all his profits so far have gone into building more content. But the threads on Quora and Reddit show an undercurrent of disillusionment: “Is PhysicsWallah worth it or overrated?” asks a popular Reddit post, pointing to rising fees and diminishing support.

This sentiment spillover ties directly into the Drishti deal narrative. PW’s brand was built on trust and equity from grassroots students, a long way from the flashy headlines. As it courts investors, there is a danger that PhysicsWallah could alienate its core base. Linking this to the Drishti saga: online discourse asks whether PW’s aggressive pursuit of acquisitions signals a drift toward “growth at any cost,” exactly what felled Byju’s.

The Fallout for India’s Edtech Landscape

The collapse of the PhysicsWallah–Drishti deal is more than just one transaction. It highlights a broader inflection point for India’s edu-tech ecosystem. A few years ago, everyone assumed consolidation was inevitable: the big unicorns would snap up any mid-sized player with customer traction. Now we are seeing that valuations have dropped, capital is scarcer, and not all stars want to be part of larger constellations. Drishti’s choice to go it alone suggests a maturing industry where sustainable profits matter more than vanity valuations.

For PhysicsWallah, the implications are twofold. On the upside, the deal’s failure spares PhysicsWallah from inheriting any hidden problems at Drishti (like debt, lease liabilities, or cultural resistance). PW can still bolster its UPSC presence organically, leveraging its new facilities and online channels. And having bid high, it now knows the premium, about 6× revenue, the market expects for such acquisitions. On the flip side, PhysicsWallah loses the instant boost in market share that a Drishti deal would have provided.

Investors eyeing PW’s IPO may wonder: if a target like Drishti is deemed too expensive or problematic to integrate, what does that say about PW’s own growth path? Must PhysicsWallah slow down and focus on its existing operations? That introspection could be healthy, a chance to prove PhysicsWallah can deliver profits on its own balance sheet before stitching together a patchwork of brands.

For other edtech companies, the drama underscores both hope and caution. The “exit” or “acquire” option is not automatic anymore. Founders of smaller coaching chains and platforms might feel emboldened: if Drishti can say no, so can they. Conversely, unicorns contemplating mergers and acquisitions must recognize that loyalty and mission are intangible currencies they can’t force. Those institutional cultures will fight for autonomy. Meanwhile, investors and analysts are reminded that chasing the next mega-deal is risky in this sector. As the financing environment tightens, rationality must replace hype.

Ultimately, the PW–Drishti episode could mark a turning point toward quality over quantity in edtech. PhysicsWallah still leads a remarkable story, from a one-room YouTube experiment to a nearly ₹2,000 crore revenue juggernaut. But for PhysicsWallah to remain a force for good, it may need to heed its own legend. Alakh Pandey’s brand was built on the mantra that “education should not be a product of exploitation”. If PhysicsWallah now chases every available vertical and charges steep fees without corresponding value, it risks betraying the very students who made it. Some social-media users accuse him of turning into “just another businessman,” and time will tell if that sticks.

In the end, this story is emblematic of India’s edtech crossroads. Funding rivers have dried to trickles. The bullish consolidation phase, symbolized by the once-envied Byju’s unicorn model, is being questioned. Companies can no longer assume sky-high valuations or unlimited runway. PhysicsWallah vs. Drishti is a microcosm of that change. It shows that even giants can be humbled by prudence. And it underscores that education, above all, has human stakes. For every startup guru chasing a billion, there’s a classroom teacher and an aspirant whose faith is on the line. Listening to all voices, from founders to faculty to students, is now as critical as chasing quarterly targets.

The verdict is still out on PhysicsWallah’s future. Will it chart a steady course, learning from the cautionary tales of its peers? Or will it forge ahead in hopes of fast-tracking its IPO narrative, risking strain on quality? One thing is clear: students, educators, and investors alike will be watching closely, in a mix of skepticism and hope, as this saga and India’s edtech transformation unfolds.